'We'll be back': Tale of two bullpens 

PITTSBURGH -- Not too long after giving up an eighth-inning lead on Thursday night against the Pirates, Marlins reliever Dylan Floro acknowledged that the bullpen hadn't been getting the job done of late. The series opener at PNC Park marked the second straight game in which a Miami reliever had blown a save.

"We've kind of gotten punched in the jaw over the last couple of days," Floro said. "It hurts, but we'll be back. We'll respond ready to go."

This season has been the tale of two bullpens. Entering Friday, Miami's new-look group ranks as follows:

• 1.16 WHIP (third in MLB)

• 3.73 ERA (11th)

• 205 innings (13th)

But during this season-long six-game skid, two major issues from the first week of the season -- when the Marlins opened with a 1-6 record -- have resurfaced: late leads blown and untimely hitting. With so many close games because of the inconsistent offense, Marlins relievers rarely enter in low-pressure situations. Every mistake is magnified. Since 2020, the Marlins rank fifth with 56 games decided by two runs or fewer. This season, the Marlins are 9-19 (.321, 28th in MLB).

Yimi García recorded his first save on April 10. The Marlins have the following numbers in high-leverage situations since then:

• 7.62 ERA (22nd)

• .390 wOBA (last)

• 136 total batters faced (seventh)

• 14 blown saves (second)

Below are the numbers for Miami's three main back-end arms in the bullpen.

RHP Anthony Bass

• Not scored upon in 18 of 24 outings

• Has a 0.98 ERA and a .158 slugging percentage against since relinquishing the closer role after two blown saves in the first week

RHP Dylan Floro

• Not scored upon in 22 of 26 outings

• All 10 of his earned runs have come in three appearances that skew his numbers

RHP Yimi García

• Not scored upon in 17 of 23 outings

• Given up runs in back-to-back appearances for the first time this season

Floro watched video after Thursday's outing and noticed he was throwing across his body a little too much, resulting in an uncharacteristic two-walk appearance. On Wednesday, García missed his location, and the Blue Jays capitalized.

"Everybody's going to have their struggles at different times. We have loved the way our guys have thrown the ball," manager Don Mattingly said. "Yimi gives one up [Wednesday], but he comes in against the Braves in a different series and slams the door against the top of their order.

"I think all our guys have been good for the most part, and then they've all had little hiccups. Yimi's had a couple of hiccups. Floro's been pretty much good every time he goes out there, he's had a couple of games where things didn't go well. Anthony's the same way. He's pretty much good every time. There's been a couple of games early on that didn't go his way. I think you can almost say it about everybody out there in our 'pen.

"[Richard] Bleier struggled early, but he's been really good. [Ross Detwiler] had some struggles, he's been really good. [Anthony] Bender's been good, [John] Curtiss has been good, had some struggles, good again. The bullpen stuff is really just about putting ourselves in good position a lot, and that we have to give them a little bit of a cushion. We can't play a lot of games where every game is one run, one run, one run."